Previous Exhibitions - A Wider Landscape by Donald Wilkinson

A Wider Landscape

by Donald Wilkinson

6 July - 31 October 2002

One of Cumbria's most important artists is staging a special exhibition alongside Dove Cottage, Grasmere, of his recent work studying views which would have been familiar to William Wordsworth.

Donald Wilkinson, who lives near Hadrian's Wall, spent five months earlier this year capturing the changing moods of a Lakeland mountain which was well known to Wordsworth.

The paintings in the exhibition look at the many faces of Saddleback, mostly from St John's in the Vale - the same view Wordsworth and Coleridge would have seen as they walked on their many journeys from Dove Cottage to Keswick.

Donald Wilkinson has designed the exhibition to make the best use of the intimate space at 3oW with a variety of styles of painting, including some large panoramic views.

The exhibition consists of work all created in the first five months of 2002 painted in different weather and at different times of the day to capture the ever changing moods of the mountain. One series of six paintings are images of a snowstorm showing the approach and eventual passing of the storm. The choice of media, which includes charcoal, inks and pastels, depended on the nature of the scene on the day.

Both Wordsworth and Coleridge knew Saddleback well and there are several references to the mountain, including it's alternative name - Blencathra - in their writings. Wordsworth even included it in a discussion of the shape of mountains in his "Guide to the Lakes".

David Cooper, Wordsworth Trust Arts Officer said: "Donald is a major Cumbrian artist of our age, whose work can be found in many of the world's leading public collections - including the British Council, the V & A Museum and the National Library of Scotland - as well as countless private collections. We are delighted that he is exhibiting here at the Wordsworth Trust and, moreover, that he has created a series of work which links with the history of Dove Cottage and the Lake Poets."

The exhibition is free to view and is open seven days a week at the 3oW Gallery next to Dove Cottage in Grasmere.

Donald Wilkinson was born and brought up in Keswick and studied art in Carlisle and the Royal College of Art, London. He lived for many years in Derbyshire where he taught art, returning to Cumbria in 1980 to set up his studio and currently lives near Hadrian's Wall in the north of the county. His work has been exhibited nationally as well as throughout Cumbria and his paintings are in a number of important public collections.